On The Table Read, “The Best Book Reader Magazine in the UK“, author JJ Barnes describes how to use character friendship in your story, different kinds of friend character, and how to write them well.
Written by JJ Barnes
A character friendship can be used to develop and grow your story.
Most people have a friend. At least one. Someone they talk to and share their fears with, reflect on their options with. The same is true of your Protagonist. I’ll write about how to write a friendship that feels both real, and is also beneficial to your story.
What Do They Have In Common?
In order for a character friendship to feel believable, your characters have to have something in common. If there have no connection other than being conveniently placed to make your story move forwards, they won’t feel like a real friendship. You need your audience to believe your Protagonist will have conversations with that character that they need to have for the plot.
Whatever it is that brought them together will have bound them, even if the friendship turns out to be a toxic one ultimately.
Childhood Character Friendship Vs New Friendship
If they were childhood friends who have remained close, make sure your audience understands that. They’ll be different people to when they first met so the reason for the connection could be unclear. Talk about their relationship when they were little and how it has changed, but remained important. Two very different adults with different values and passions that remain close is a good source of conflict.
If your Protagonist and their friend met in adulthood, you’ll have a more recent and relevant reason for their connection, but it may be less stable. This character friendship will be based on their current similarities and interests, and will be more clear to the audience why they’re close. But, without the history keeping them together, it’ll be easier to break them.
To create a real conflict ridden opportunity, give your Protagonist one childhood friend and one new friend, and force them all to interact. A new friendship will be built on present day reasons, whereas a childhood friendship will be based on history. Both can have cracks and flaws, but they’ll be in different ways. It creates opportunities for all kinds of tension and pressure whilst still rooted in care for your Protagonist.
Differences Between Them
Whereas your Antagonist will challenge your Protagonist in hostile ways, the friends will challenge your Protagonist in a different way. But it’ll still be a challenge.
If your character friendship has no conflict and your friend character just agrees with everything your Protagonist says or does, there’s no point in them being in the story. It’ll be boring. Your Protagonist needs somebody to disagree, present different options, different opinions. Because they’re coming from a place of love it will be with your Protagonist’s best interests at heart, but it’ll still be conflict.
A character who just agrees blindly with everything will be like reading your Protagonist talking to a brick wall. So whilst they don’t have to fight them outright on everything, you need to keep the conflict active. They need to be the voice of reason if your Protagonist is being wild, or the voice of excitement if your Protagonist is too cautious.
A Character Friendship As A Sounding Board
A character alone with their thoughts will often read at a slow pace. Whilst internal conflict is interesting, if the entire story is just a person alone weighing up their options it’ll be boring. Your character friendship will function in your story to give your Protagonist somebody to speak to.
When they’re in conflict with the Antagonist the story will be moving forwards naturally as they try and outdo one another, there’s plenty of conflict and interest. Putting a friend character in place means the action keeps moving between key interactions with the Antagonist. If you have no action in your Protagonist’s down time your story will be slow and tedious.
A friend is where your Protagonist can explain their plans and ideas, weigh up options, talk about their fears or emotions. Talking into the air is unnatural, and when your story has no dialogue it feels slow. Your character friendship is where those ideas can be expressed and debated in a way that’s entertaining for the audience.
Good Friend Vs Toxic Friend
Your Protagonist needs to have conflict with their friend, or the conversation will be dull. However, there is a difference between conflict with a good friend and a toxic friend. And both are equally valuable and interesting to the progress of your plot, and the entertainment of your story.
Whether you choose to give your Protagonist either a good or toxic friend, or one of both, there’s things you need to consider.
The Good Friend
A good friend will disagree with your Protagonist out of love. They will want something positive to happen in their lives, and fear their pain. Even if their advice is wrong, you can be clear that they’re not wrong because of vindictive reasons.
For instance, if your Protagonist has two options, a risky one and a safe one. The good friend will push them towards safety. They fear that the Protagonist will end up in pain, and the risk is too great. Your Protagonist, however, will be learning towards with risk. There is conflict and conversation to be had, and disagreement to be worked through. Even though the risk is the right choice, no harm would befall them if they followed the friend’s advice. It would just yield less joy in the end.
When your Protagonist goes against the good friend’s advice, they shouldn’t be cruel about it. They shouldn’t mock failings, or belittle them for making mistakes. A good friend will respect your Protagonist’s right to make their own choices. Of course, it’s important to remember that nobody is perfect and a good friend might need an “I told you so” moment to keep it interesting and real. But ultimately, their response to the Protagonist will still be one of love and care.
The Toxic Friend
A toxic friend could give the same advice as a good friend, but it’ll come from a different motivation. A toxic friend will see the high risk option as a reason why the Protagonist will surpass them. Keeping the Protagonist in the status quo is what motivates your toxic friend.
If your Protagonist improves their own life, they’ll leave the toxic friend behind or accomplish something the toxic friend never could. Jealously and possessiveness are what push the toxic friend to advising caution, rather than care for their well being.
In the event of the Protagonist failing and suffering for their risks, rather than offering comfort and support, the toxic friend should mock. They point out that they were right and insist the Protagonist doesn’t try again. Any repeat efforts, and repeat failings, will only induce further resentments masquerading as care.
For your Protagonist’s character arc, they might come to recognise the damage the toxic friend is having on their ego and confidence. By shaking the toxic friend free, it is a step on the ladder to finally accomplishing their goal.
I Love To Write A Character Friendship
I don’t often write romance into my stories. There might be a relationship as part of the Protagonist’s arc, but it’s rarely the point of the story. However, I do love to write a good character friendship.
Lilly and Saffron in The Lilly Prospero Series are one of my favourite relationships I’ve ever created. There’s always conflict between them, and they’re very different people, but their bond is deep and the love between them is real. In Emerald Wren and The Coven Of Seven, the friendship between Emerald and her genie is what pushes the story forwards, more than any of the action happening around them.
I would always choose to have a character friendship as a core to any of my stories. I think friendships can be powerful and interesting, and are worthy of building a story from.
More From JJ Barnes:
I am an author, filmmaker, artist and youtuber, and I am the creator and editor of The Table Read.
You can find links to all my work and social media on my website: www.jjbarnes.co.uk
Buy my books: www.sirenstories.co.uk/books
Follow me on Twitter: @JudieannRose
We strive to keep The Table Read free for both our readers and our contributors. If you have enjoyed our work, please consider donating to help keep The Table Read going!
[…] kinds of friendships, and what they do for your Protagonist. She explains how to initiate those new friendships in your […]
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Anadrol may be a potent mass-building steroid; however, it’s also one
of the most poisonous AAS (1), based mostly on our liver function and
lipid profile checks. In this information, we’ll listing the different
types of bulking and cutting steroids utilized by our
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I’ve always liked that freedom facet of cycling, you know, the primary time I may get away from mom and pa
on my bike and journey many towns away from house.
I was racing in Europe full-time, we had European riders on the group, we
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This comes with time and expertise, but knowledge is energy, and the more
you realize about what can go wrong, the much less probability you’ll have of seeing any severe complications.
These are just some of the things that can go wrong when injecting steroids.
Most people will experience a difficulty a method or another when using steroids over many years.
AAS users usually have a tendency to have large higher arm circumferences, and an inappropriately small cuff will overestimate blood
strain. The importance of utilizing an acceptable cuff size in a muscular inhabitants
was underscored in a trial inspecting blood pressure in a cohort
of aggressive bodybuilders (96). In those with an higher arm circumference
higher than 33 cm, systolic blood strain was eight.2 mmHg greater
utilizing cuff measurement M in contrast with
cuff measurement L. As a result, 33% of the themes would be categorised as hypertensive
utilizing the – inappropriate – cuff measurement M, whereas solely 12%
can be categorised as such utilizing cuff dimension L.
It must be noted that cuff dimension was adjusted according to higher arm
circumference in the HAARLEM study, and thus the outcomes were not affected by this
problem (46).
In addition, stopping use can cause depression, typically
leading to resumption of use. The Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is the lead federal company supporting
scientific research on drug use and addiction. In Accordance to NIDA,
anabolic steroids are also identified as “anabolic-androgenic steroids” because of their anabolic effects and androgenic results at the same time.
This signifies that solely remaining traces of metabolites might slip past
the drug testing techniques; these traces can now be picked as much as return a constructive result.
Like all areas of medication, advances in performance drug testing are constantly
ongoing and underneath research. This brings about new
methods which will or could not become standard and
widespread in drug testing worldwide. You can’t
assume one yr to the next that the identical avoidance strategies will work.
Some latest developments in anti-doping testing that labs have
developed include gene doping tests, retroactive liquid testing, and long-term metabolites.
Testers will usually take a look at for all known steroids, but if
resources are restricted, then solely the most generally
used steroids might be tested Gynectrol for calorie burn.
Some steroids customers have suffered from end-stage kidney failure and
have required a dialysis. Others, having beforehand skilled kidney injury, when starting
a cycle of steroids once more have skilled a relapse of severe
kidney harm and dysfunction. When taking steroids, the
testes (testicles or balls) will typically lower of their normal functioning on account of the upper ranges
of testosterone within the physique.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), anabolic steroids are also medication of abuse.
About 3–4 percent of males in the Usa report lifetime AAS use, compared with
0.5–1 p.c of ladies. The prescription testosterone market
in the United States is substantial and rising,
with more than 5 million prescriptions written annually and an estimated
$1 billion in gross sales.
It is possible that the higher dosages used, use of various AAS, or
different strategies used to measure CEC (which just isn’t
standardized), might underlie these differences. The mechanism mediating an AAS-induced improve in blood strain is
hard to assess, and most evidence comes from in vitro and animal experiments.
In Accordance to current knowledge, 20% of patients who have been being
handled for symptomatic hypogonadism had previously used
AASs. Recognition of the particular particulars of the user’s
AAS publicity is essential for their medical management.
Administration methods for male infertility secondary to AAS induced hypogonadism ought to give consideration to the underlying hypogonadal state
[105,106]. According to a current research, chronic AAS abuse must be
considered when a muscular man presents with hypogonadism, onset of
gynecomastia or hirsutism. It additionally raises the degrees of the protein in red blood cells
that carries oxygen to the body’s organs, called hemoglobin.
Lifetime prevalence in the U.S. is estimated
at 0.9 % for males and 0.1 % for females,
greater among young males (1.5–6 %) and females (0–2.four %).
Extra correlates embody opposed college experiences, unstable social environments, and legal habits (Hakansson et al., 2012).
The male adult inhabitants with experience in power training exhibits
the best prevalence of AAS use and not using a medical
prescription (Arver et al., 2018). This trend is supported by research carried out in Iran,
Saudi Arabia, and Poland, which reported a
notable incidence of women participating within the indiscriminate
administration of androgens (Albaker et
al., 2021, Angoorani and Halabchi, 2015, Rachoń et
al., 2006). Nonetheless, the utilization of
these substances without medical supervision carries vital dangers to the organism.
A large majority of these steroids have real medical uses
whereas others are typically abused to enhance efficiency and aesthetic values.
Corticosteroids are primarily produced within the adrenal cortex, which is located on high of
the kidneys. The manufacturing of corticosteroids is regulated
by a fancy feedback mechanism involving the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands.
When the physique requires corticosteroids, the hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), which stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH then acts on the adrenal cortex, triggering the synthesis
and launch of corticosteroids into the bloodstream.
The major distinction between testosterone medications and steroids is that TRT is legal.
It must be prescribed by a medical doctor and includes using federally-controlled drugs which are
administered in physiological doses. AAS are presently unlawful performance-enhancing drugs used
to improve power, pace, endurance, and aesthetics. The effects
of these drugs are dose-dependent, so larger doses lead to bigger and
quicker results.
Gynecomastia is the benign enlargement of the glandular tissue of the breast
(197). The condition is not to be confused with pseudogynecomastia, also referred to as lipomastia or adipomastia,
in which excessive adipose tissue gives the looks of gynecomastia.
Gynecomastia often develops during puberty, with a reported peak incidence of 65% in 14-year-old
boys (198). Whereas palpable, in the great majority
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Principally these are going to be Testosterone (Not an Anabolic Steroid,
however only a Steroid), and derivates of Testosterone.
If your symptoms are extreme and you’ve got got problem respiratory (dyspnea), chest ache
(thoracalgia), or are hypertensive, you must call emergency providers and cease supplementation. If signs are extra benign, consult your physician or a medical
skilled. Physicians might conduct any of the next 5 exams earlier than, during, or after
a steroid cycle. Clenbuterol might elevate users’
heart charges to high levels and trigger cardiac hypertrophy
(enlargement of the heart).
This is an open-access article distributed beneath the
phrases of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
No use, distribution or copy is permitted which does
not comply with these phrases. Often the physique produces a extreme
and extreme response in certain situations. Anti-Doping Company, champions the positive values and life lessons discovered
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In our expertise, the least poisonous stack for mass could be testosterone and Deca Durabolin. Failure to leave gaps like this in-between cycles,
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We discover the above unwanted aspect effects could be short-term, lasting several weeks or months, depending on the steroids used.
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Corticosteroids help sportspeople to minimize back muscle ache and likewise scale back irritation of varied accidents that they might get throughout their workouts.
Corticosteroids are prescription drugs that can be used to assist manage
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It’s necessary to note that MK-677 per se has a
modified non-peptide structure that makes it orally lively, though it has an identical mechanism
of action as peptide-compounds in the GHS class [27].
Researchers can also need to notice that the results of steroids could range for different muscle teams, relying on the density of androgen receptors for
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Further examination revealed that the lads taking
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In reality, anabolic steroids have been reported to stimulate weight loss in take a look at
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